Poland/Future of Europe debate: Polish government leads country away from democracy and civil rights

07/04/2018

Ska Keller, President of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, comments on the Future of Europe debate with the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki:

"Poland is at the heart of Europe and the EU has much to thank it for. Poland was the first country on our continent with a modern constitution, separating the legislative, executive and judicial powers. It was a forerunner in establishing the rule of law. But the current Polish government is leading the country away from the path of democracy and civil rights. They are undermining the independence of the courts, trying to control political discourse and threatening the freedom of the media. The recent proposals to change the electoral law for the upcoming European elections, which would kick smaller parties out of the European Parliament, is yet another threat to democracy in Poland.

"We fully support the Article 7 procedure and welcome the recent infringement procedure against the dangerous judicial reforms. People join the EU in the expectation that it will strengthen their democracy and bring about good governance. We need to protect democracy and fundamental rights everywhere in the European Union. And this is also a task of the Polish government."